“It’s not like I can just walk next door and talk to another employee about some of these things,” the 17-year veteran told KAYU-TV. “We have 10 fire stations and three different shifts. The only real way to communicate is that way.”

Sprague ran the Spokane County Christian Firefighter Fellowship and told The Spokesman-Review that he only sent the religious emails to firefighters who wanted them.

“Their content has not violated a single rule of this department,” he told the paper.

Fire department commissioners said it was a tough decision to let Sprague go.